It is the right of the men of letters in Egypt to speak of May, for they lived alongside her for a stretch of time during which "May" was the beacon of the Arab East. Deep spiritual bonds arose between her and them, formed in the atmosphere of that literary salon which was the place of pilgrimage of the great men of letters and statesmen.

Mr. Muhammad Abd al-Ghani Hasan has gathered a number of these recollections, some of which we publish below:

1 — Sheikh Mustafa Abd al-Raziq

— How did the connection between Your Excellency and "May" arise, and what is your opinion of her literary salon?

— I saw her the first time at a party at the Continental celebrating the passage of twenty-five years since the founding of the Ma'arif Press. The truth is that time has made me forget how the connection arose, but what cannot be forgotten is that after this I was among the frequenters of her literary salon. In truth "May" did not often attend social gatherings and clubs; those connected with her met her in her own salon, which she kept in her house, and it was she who conducted the conversation in the assembly. She would vary the conversations, and their soundness showed the measure of her literary competence.

And "May" would direct the conversation, but without ever appearing in the guise of the leader of the salon or the one presiding over the gathering — which points to one of the beautiful sides of her character.

2 — Huda Hanim Shaarawi

— How did you come to know May, what are your first mem-ories of your first meeting with her, and what impression did she leave upon Your Ladyship?

— My acquaintance with May goes back to the year 1914. At that time we were organizing a series of lectures for ladies at the old Egyptian University. A

varied number of gracious young ladies and married ladies used to frequent the atmosphere of those lectures, driven by longing for knowledge and led by a lamp of hope — that hope which stirred in the breast of the Egyptian woman at the height of her movement and at the dawn of her renaissance.

As I was on my way out of the lecture hall after the lecture had been delivered, my eye fell upon a young woman distinguished from all that feminine gathering by graceful movements and a light, charming spirit; from her two black eyes shot strong rays of piercing intelligence, sharp brilliance, and rare quickness of mind.

I saw this girl draw a little nearer to me, study me, and stop me, saying: "Madam Huda, I admire

Guard the wound of your heart, young woman..

I said, “Tell me, what ails you?”

She said: “Spring saddens me. It saddens me to see its beautiful processions marching through space, while human beings behold them only through narrow loopholes pierced in the iron walls.”

your project and appreciate the effort you are expending; therefore I place myself at your disposal. Do not think, madam, that I am too small to help or unable to assist... I am a writer and a poetess; I write in the newspapers and publish in the magazines. I am 'May' — and I cannot think, madam, but that you have read something of what I have written. Do you not know me??"

These frank words, full of literary courage, self-regard, and

confidence of personality, and betokening at the same time a spirit brimming with pure intention and good purpose — these were what moved me to clasp that girl to my breast, and to kiss her with a kiss of admiration for her and of satisfaction with the nobility of her purpose and the honor of her aim.

And I expressed to that girl, who had offered herself in the service of our noble cause, my admiration at knowing her, my pleasure at seeing her, and my delight at her joining the ranks of our movement as a writer with her pen, an inspirer with her thought, a muse with her poetic gift...

Her youth did not prevent me from welcoming her adherence to us, nor from expecting of her great effort and great work.

3 — Dr. Taha Husayn

May's life had two aspects, the first of which is:

May's salon. As for May's salon, it was democratic — or say rather that it was open, and those who had not attained distinguished rank in Egyptian life were not turned away from it. I remember that I came into contact with May's salon only after my thesis on Abu al-'Ala' had been examined; May attended that examination, and attended some of the parties my colleagues gave for me at the time, and I asked her teacher and mine, Lutfi al-Sayyid, to present me in her salon. Thus I came to know her in that salon and frequented her on Tuesdays until I traveled to Europe. I returned to Egypt after a year and stayed there some months, and met May there on Tuesdays as I used to meet her before my journey.

Those who frequented this salon differed among themselves enor-mously: there were Egyptians, Syrians, and Europeans of all their various peoples; there were men